Health Studies

I chose to attend Fairfield University for many different reasons. One of the major reasons was because it was a university that focused strongly on a liberal arts education. All my life I have been a very passionate person about many different subjects, and coming into college I was undecided about what I wanted to study and pursue as a career. Fairfield was the school that gave me the opportunity to explore all of these subjects and interests of mine. I was able to take a variety of core classes and have the opportunity to learn more about the subjects I was interested in. This was a major benefit that made me a more well-rounded student overall. I was also looking for a school that had smaller class sizes and the development of one-on-one relationships with my professors. I didn’t just want to be a number. Another reason why I chose to attend Fairfield was because of the location. It wasn’t too far away from home, the surrounding area had a lot to offer including the beach, restaurants, shops, and having the train station nearby made it easy to travel into the city! The campus was also another major thing that captured my attention. When I came for my first tour of Fairfield, I fell in love with the campus. To me Fairfield felt and looked like a college campus, which was something I was really looking for as a student. It immediately felt like home, and the place that I knew I could strive and succeed at.

When I first came to Fairfield, I was undecided about my major. I had a hard time picking only one subject that I wanted to focus on, and I was still unsure about what I really wanted to do as a career. However, this year I finally found my passion! I want to become a child life specialist. A child life specialist is someone who encourages development of children facing challenging experiences such as cancer, provides emotional support for their families, and provides information and guidance along the way. Once I figured this out I declared Psychology as my major. I am also double minoring in Educational Studies and Health Studies (the first student at Fairfield University to declare this minor!) I have always had a passion for teaching and I love working with children. I have also always been interested in pursuing a career in a Health related field, so once the Health Studies minor finally got approved I was extremely excited about that. My major and minors seemed like the perfect combination for what my career goal is in the future.

The Jesuit mission and identity of Fairfield University believes that learning shall be done through experience and reflection. It provides us with a liberal education in which we are able to create, imagine, and appreciate. Fairfield believes that learning is a life long process and that each of our individual education is the foundation for professional development. Fairfield provides its students with opportunities to go out into the community through both service and academic activities. You can bring your learning to life and out into the real world. By taking part in these opportunities, I have learned a lot about myself and about the community around me. Going out into the community is such a rewarding experience. You may not realize it, but you are truly making a difference and helping others, and to me that is the best experience of all. I feel very grateful and privileged to be a student at such a wonderful university.